Letters to the Editor: February 28-March 6

The Editor:

TouchStone Health Clinic’s staff and providers would like to thank the communities of Blaine and Birch Bay for the recognition of the 2018 Business of the Year Award.

It is an honor to receive this award.

This award is not just for the executive team, it is also for all the individuals who have dedicated long hours to helping provide community services to the Blaine and Birch Bay communities.

In the last three years since TouchStone has expanded its services to integrate mental health and primary medical care we have seen many positive changes occurring within this community.

TouchStone looks forward to continuing to work with other pillars of the community, as together we strive towards creating a better, stronger and healthier Blaine and Birch Bay community.

We humbly accept this award and are excited to see what the future holds for TouchStone Health Clinic.

Shelley Walker

TouchStone Health Clinic

The Editor:

Here in Whatcom County, we’re spoiled by a lot of things. Not the least of which is this area’s love of independent film. Soon after moving here in 2001, I started volunteering at The Pickford Cinema and cleaning the popcorn machine at night for movie passes.

Over the years, The Pickford Cinema and Film Is Truth (in all its incarnations) became favorite pastimes for me. Then after graduating in journalism and working in a variety of media outlets, I realized the importance of women’s perspectives being covered in the media we consume and how those perspectives are underrepresented. That is why I was excited to discover CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival, a multi-day international festival featuring films exclusively directed by women that is working to make Bellingham and Whatcom County a destination for filmmakers and film lovers from all over the world.

CASCADIA is scheduled April 11-14 at Pickford Film Center on Bay Street and will feature a variety of programs including an Indigenous filmmakers program, a scriptwriting studio, and an emerging young director’s program. They will also honor Academy Award-winning director Freida Lee Mock at “A Conversation with Freida Lee Mock,” a special evening of food, film and discussion. Mock is a five-time Academy Award-nominated director who is best known for her Oscar winner “Maya Lin: A Strong, Clear Vision,” as well as “Anita-Speaking Truth to Power.” Her forthcoming film is “RUTH: Justice Ginsberg In Her Own Words.”

“A Conversation with Freida Lee Mock” will begin at 6 p.m. onstage at Mount Baker Theatre with a catered reception following at 6:45 p.m. and her film “Anita” at 8 p.m. with a discussion with the director afterward.

For more information visit cascadiafilmfest.org.

Tara Nelson

Bellingham